To the Editor:
On July 12, 2023, I attended the town board meeting in Berne. During the public-comment period, Mr. Roger Chrysler spoke about haying the fields at Switzkill Farm. He had previously addressed the board about haying this year several times (March, April, June, 2023).

He had put in a bid for $2,010 to be paid in each of the next five years. Mr. Chrysler’s was the only bid received. Mr. Chrysler explained to the board that the hay needed to be mowed now or it would be of no use.

In addition, he explained that, if the hay was not harvested now, it would ruin next year’s hay as well. It didn’t make sense to me that the town board would turn their backs on the bid. I don’t know Mr. Chrysler but I was dismayed by the town supervisor’s response to his request to hay the fields at Switzkill Farm.

[Supervisor Dennis] Palow told Mr. Chrysler that he could not hay because the town government was still in discussions with Albany County regarding the purchase of Switzkill Farm. (How that is relevant, I do not know).

After reviewing the minutes from previous meetings, I found the town of Berne has been in discussions with Albany County for the purchase of Switzkill Farm since at least April 2022. Most recently, the town board alleges the plan is that the county will “buy” Switzkill Farm but the town of Berne will retain ownership.

At the January 2023 board meeting, [Councilwoman] Anita Clayton stated that it would take $500,000 to repair Switzkill Farm and that the town did not want to be saddled with the financial responsibility as well as the strict regulations from the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy. Why then would they negotiate to retain ownership?

In January 2022, Palow was told to repurpose all the signs and equipment at Switzill Farm. In July 2022,  Palow told a board member to inquire about auctioning off items from Switzkill. In September 2022, Palow told this same board member to inquire about auctioning off the hay and the logging from Switzkill.

It makes me wonder why, with all the effort to raise money off Switzkill Farm, wouldn’t the town board welcome Mr. Chrysler’s bid, especially when there were no other bids. Did Mr. Chrysler make somebody mad?

Peggy Christman

East Berne

Editor’s note: Peggy Christman, a Democrat, ran for Berne supervisor in 2021. Of the Switzkill Farm negotiations, Albany County spokeswoman Mary Rozak told The Enterprise in May, “Discussions continue regarding the Switzkill property which could include assistance from community organizations. Various plans have been proposed and are evolving.”